A Swinginâ€™ New Yearâ€™s Eve:
Featuring Lee Presson and the Nails, Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, Stompy Jones and the Cottontails, plus special appearances by the famed â€œGirl in the Fishbowl,â€ 8 p.m., Bimboâ€™s 365 Club, San Francisco, $60, 415-474-0365, www.bimbos365club.com.

Doug Beaversâ€™ path appeared to be well mapped out in front of him. After graduating from Antioch High School in â€™94, he planned to study electrical engineering at the University of California at Davis. He had received a scholarship from… Continue Reading →

Doug Beaversâ€™ path appeared to be well mapped out in front of him. After graduating from Antioch High School in â€™94, he planned to study electrical engineering at the University of California at Davis.

He had received a scholarship from the school _ a full ride, no less _ and was pointed in the direction of a life of pocket protectors and calculators. Then, at the last minute, he had second thoughts.

â€œThe day I got accepted, I was feeling that it wasnâ€™t what I wanted to do,â€ he says during a recent interview at a barbecue restaurant in Oakland. â€œIt was cool, but it wasnâ€™t `it.â€™â€

What was â€œit,â€ Beavers soon realized, was making music. The trombonist passed on Davis and picked New York City as the launching pad for what has been a mighty impressive career. Fans can witness how electrical engineeringâ€™s loss has become jazz musicâ€™s gain when Beavers leads his all-star salsa outfit, Conjunto Rovira, in concert on Monday at Yoshiâ€™s in San Francisco.
Beavers is only 31 _ a mere infant in jazz speak _ but heâ€™s already accomplished more than some jazz musicians do during entire careers. Much of that can be credited to his unsurpassed work ethic. This guy is always working on something, be it a new CD project, writing arrangements for his own band or playing trombone is somebody elseâ€™s group.

â€œI am constantly working,â€ he admits. â€œIâ€™m working like 16 hours a day.â€

You believe him when he claims 100-plus-hours work weeks. A quick scan of his bursting-at-the-seams resume backs up that kind of a ridiculous number, but his intensity level is what really speaks volumes. Indeed, the best word to describe this young musician is intense. Heâ€™s one of the most focused and passionate people Iâ€™ve ever met, and itâ€™s all centered around music. You never doubt what matters most to this young man.

Beaversâ€™ versatility has also been a big factor in his career. Heâ€™s a terrific trombonist, one who knows how to swing with the best of them, and arguably an even better arranger. Heâ€™s improving all the time as a bandleader and has become known for his ability to transcribe music.

It was that last talent that eventually led him to work with Eddie Palmieri. The Latin jazz giant was working on a new CD and hired Beavers to transcribe some long-retired compositions. Those Beavers-revived compositions would form the heart of Palmieriâ€™s â€œLa Perfecta IIâ€ (2002).

The trombonist would then join Palmieriâ€™s touring band and be featured on the masterâ€™s star-studded 2006 release, â€œListen Here!,â€ which went on to win the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz recording in 2007. Looking back, Beavers says his time with Palmieri was well spent.

â€œWhat I learned from Eddie was how to get a crowd crazy,â€ he says.

Heâ€™s now applying that skill in leading his own band. He fondly recalls a recent gig at Jazz at Pearls, which started off kind of slow, but then took off like a rocket:

â€œThirty minutes after we started, the club was packed,â€ he remembers. â€œAbout an hour after we started, because the windows in the club were open, people were outside dancing on the street.â€

Beyond captaining his own salsa music juggernaut, Beavers has also recently signed up to blow trombone in Pete Escovedoâ€™s band. If youâ€™re a Latin music guy, like Beavers, having both Escovedo and Palmieri on your resume by the time your 31 (or even 81) is vastly impressive.

Furthermore, the busy bee has found the time to record and release a new CD. â€œJazz, Baby!â€ features Beavers leading an orchestra in top-flight arrangements of such childrenâ€™s classics as â€œThe Hokey Pokey,â€ â€œItsy Bitsy Spider,â€ â€œThe Ants Go Marchingâ€ and â€œYou are My Sunshine.â€ Although itâ€™s the rare childrenâ€™s recording that can be enjoyed by parents, Beavers says heâ€™s been getting the strongest reaction from the target market.

â€œKids who check this out, they want to play it over and over, because they keep hearing new musical gifts,â€ he says.

Your own musical gift awaits when Doug Beavers y Su Conjunto Rovira perform Monday at Yoshiâ€™s in San Francisco. Showtimes are 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $12. Yoshiâ€™s SF is at 1300 Fillmore St. Call 415-665-5600 or www.yoshis.com. To learn more about this talented local artist, check out www.dougbeavers.com.